1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to discharge valves, and, more particularly, to discharge valves used in reciprocating compressors.
2. Description of the related art
Compressors of the type to which the present invention pertains comprise a motor-compressor unit mounted within a hermetically sealed housing. The motor-compressor unit includes an electric motor drivingly coupled to a positive displacement reciprocating compressor mechanism for compressing refrigerant. The reciprocating compressor includes a piston driven by the electric motor and slidably carried within a cylinder.
It is known in the art to provide a discharge valve at the discharge end of the cylinder to allow compressed refrigerant to be discharged from the cylinder. Such discharge valves, however, are formed with one or more locating surfaces to properly orient the various flow openings formed in the valve parts, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,853 to Linnert; pre-assembled with the various parts fixed to each other in a particular desired orientation, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,248 to Gerteis; or include a mulitiplicity of parts, some of which form a housing for the other valve parts and have fluid flow openings therein, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,168 to Peruzzi. Such valves tend to be relatively expensive to manufacture and/or assemble.
What is needed in the art is a discharge valve which may be easily assembled in the compressor at the discharge end of the cylinder without any pre-assembly, and which does not require any particular orientation for proper operation of the valve.